Forty Palestinians, including women and children, arrived in Gaza early Tuesday morning as part of the sixth group to return from Egypt via the Rafah crossing.
The crossing was reopened on a limited basis and under strict Israeli restrictions.
Medical sources reported that the returnees were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Among them were patients and wounded individuals who had been receiving treatment abroad, highlighting the dire health crisis plaguing Gaza.
While the limited movement of people across the border continues, Israel continues violating the ceasefire agreement in effect since October.
Specter of catastrophe looms
Four Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli gunfire and shelling in various areas of central and northern Gaza, amid escalating warnings of a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies in hospitals.
Health officials announced that laboratory and blood bank services are at risk of shutting down, raising the specter of a humanitarian catastrophe that threatens the lives of thousands of patients and wounded individuals.
The Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, said that the shortage of medicines has reached approximately 46 percent.
Internationally, the Indonesian army is preparing to deploy up to 8,000 troops in a potential peacekeeping mission in Gaza.
